Realities of large family living in a small house
Our move to the country provided us with so much space. Freedom to move and explore and acres of land for animals and food production.
It also came with a very small house.

In fact, we downsized by over half, leaving a spacious 5-bedroom and 3 living area (plus studio) home for a 140sq metre/1500sq foot house. This was a topic of hot debate in deciding to buy the property and we’ve had to navigate many realities of a large family living in a small house.
Space where it mattered
Many of the properties we looked at in our house-hunting had very small bedrooms and one living area. Even though we put offers in out of desperation, in hindsight, I am so glad we didn’t end up with any of them!
Our house has space where it matters: large bedrooms, 2 living areas and a big kitchen.
The three bedrooms in our cottage are big enough to avoid bunkbeds! Yay! (If you’ve ever changed sheets on a top bunk you’ll understand!) and they all have floor space too. This has provided our children with room for their own personal belongings.
Having two separate living areas (one with double French glass doors) has been wonderful as well. It is just so handy to have enough ‘places’ for children and adults to retreat to or to divide into!
Finally, I am so grateful for our large kitchen. So much of our day is spent preparing food, cleaning up from meals and cooking from scratch. We also eat in our kitchen so having space to move around the table helps a lot!

Why we believed we would manage
Before we found our farm, we had regular family holidays at Ryelands Farmstay. We all stayed in a three bedroom cottage and it remains the source of many of our favourite family memories. That experience of close quarter living stood us in good stead. It showed us that it was possible to live in a much smaller space. And, although it was only for a few nights at a time, it also taught us the benefit of living with less.
Another important factor was that we knew that our move to the country was a move to more land. The outdoor space for kids to run, play, ride bikes, and yell was really important. The size of the house was of far less consequence when we knew we all had somewhere to go out of the house!
Despite these positives, however, we have all had to make adjustments to make a small house work for a large family. Especially with the additions of homeschooling and working from home… plus a newborn baby.

So, what are some things that we do to help family life in a small house?
It’s not the space, it’s the way you use it
Downsizing is hard because we generally fill the space we have!
We quickly get used to the cupboards and shelves and utilise almost every square inch we can. So when half that space disappears literally overnight, it’s a problem!
Since moving from a larger house, we kept many of our possessions in the patio or in sheds. This hasn’t been great in a damp climate where literally everything has the potential to get mouldy!
In fact, we’ve thrown away a huge amount of our furniture, wardrobes, chairs, couches, suitcases, toys and bookcases. Thankfully, we’ve had insurance money to cover replacement costs, but it’s still been a tough experience to go through!

So how do we make good use of the space we have?
- All of our children use under their beds for personal items and then share bookcases and wardrobes. It isn’t always easy, but it’s worked so far.
- One of our children sleeps in our room, and our baby is in the ensuite… Living here has definitely stretched us and our perceived need for personal space!
- We are mindful about what we ‘bring into’ the house.
- We have regular decluttering sessions to get rid of things we actually don’t need.
- Putting things away promptly helps to minimise visual mess.
- A short time away from one another each day really helps to reset our family dynamic and not get into a cycle of tension.
But, on occasions, even these strategies haven’t helped and I’ve seriously threatened to dump half our house into a skip!
Minimalism sounds like a good idea
For many people, minimalism is the key to small house living.
Personally, I find this really hard because I know I’m a bit of a hoarder. I’m also sentimental about specific things and I attach meaning and memories to inanimate objects.
Plus there’s the reality of our life! We homeschool so we have books (and more books), curriculum, toys, games and puzzles galore! Plus stationery, art supplies, past school work, future textbooks, science kits and activities that suit babies through to older teenagers.
Hobbies also generate plenty of stuff… musical instruments, sporting equipment, about a dozen bikes, toddler vehicles, swags and the odd trebuchet or bow and arrows set.
Working from home means that there are office materials to store and access, too.
So minimalism isn’t really an option around here! Well, not yet anyway!
Hint: it’s not really about the physical space
I think what I’ve really learnt in moving to a much smaller house is that it’s actually less about the physical space and our possessions and more about our attitudes towards one another that matters.
We could live in a mansion and yet feel miserable and frustrated. No amount of space can replace a rotten heart attitude.
So instead:

I’m trusting that when our house feels emptier (and probably larger too!) we’ll look back on these years with genuine fondness.
No, it definitely isn’t always easy, but we are so thankful for where we live and we’re encouraging our children to have that same perspective.
Beautiful pictures and inspiration!! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for reading! I hope you felt encouraged 💕